WSAC College Bound Scholarship

If you are a student, parent, or educator looking for College Bound Scholarship eligibility information, applications, or other resources, please visit the College Bound page on our agency's consumer information site, readysetgrad.org.

Established by the Legislature in 2007, the College Bound Scholarship program provides financial assistance to low-income students who want to achieve the dream of a college education. This early promise of financial aid is intended to alleviate the financial barriers that prevent low-income students from considering higher education as a possibility.

The scholarship is available to 7th and 8th grade students whose family's income meets the guidelines or who are in foster care. The deadline to sign up is June 30 of the students' 8th grade year.

The scholarship covers the average tuition (at comparable colleges), some fees, and a small book allowance.

Three quarters of the students who signed up for the College Bound Scholarship by the end of their 8th grade year in 2010 graduated from high school in 2014. In comparison, the 2014 four-year graduation rate for low-income students who were eligible for the program but didn’t sign up was 62 percent.

Foster youth in 7th to 12th grade, up to age 21, who have not graduated from high school, are automatically enrolled. They are considered to have a complete application for the College Bound Scholarship via a data exchange between the Washington Student Achievement Council and the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

Since the program’s inception, more than 200,000 students have applied for the program.

For more information on how to sign up, please contact your school counselor.